A UNESCO Culture of Peace meeting
Greetings of peace from URI-Africa.
This is to inform you that URI-Africa participated in the scientific committee meeting on Pan-African Forum for a Culture of Peace in Africa held at African Union Commission in Addis Ababa on December 4-5, 2015.
The goal of this Pan-African Forum for a Culture of Peace is to harness Africa`s inspiration to establish concrete proposals for building and developing sustainable peace, as peace is the cornerstone of endogenous development and Pan-Africanism. The Pan-African Forum on Culture of Peace in Africa is organized by UNESCO, African Union and Government of Angola.
The launch of a regional movement for the promotion of a culture of peace, under the auspices of UNESCO and the African Union, is to sensitize public opinion, particularly youth, on the role they have to play to construct and consolidate peace and non-violence in their daily life and to mobilize actors in the field, organizations and partners for conception, financing and implementation of concrete projects at the local, national and regional levels.
This Forum is part of UNESCO`s Intersectoral Programme of Action for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence. It also aims for the implementation of the African Union Commission Strategic Plan, focusing mainly on regional integration, peace, security and democracy.
The principal objective of this recurring event is to institutionalize and sustain the Pan-African Movement for a culture of peace by implementing a multi-partnership involving all stakeholders.
The specific objectives are summarized by the following six keywords: Report – Action – Forward – Exchange – Creation – Communication:
• REPORT – Review the actions taken to implement the Luanda Action Plan for a Culture of Peace in order to contribute to a management system, knowledge sharing, and best practices;
• ACTION – Engage government and non-governmental organizations as well as partners in the development and implementation of plans for a culture of peace in Africa;
• FORWARD – Develop a forward-thinking holistic vision, as part of the African Union’s 2063 Agenda to contribute to the identification of obstacles, engines, and factors of change toward peaceful and resilient societies as well as innovative trends and tracks for the culture of peace in Africa;
• EXCHANGE – Create a space for discussion and dissemination of artistic and cultural expressions that contribute to the promotion of African values relating to the culture of peace: cinema, photography, music, visual arts, performing arts, fashion and design, video games, literature, craft and heritage industries;
• CREATION – Fostering artistic creation and contribute to the development of cultural and creative industries generating employment for young people in the vision of peace and sustainable development of the continent;
• COMMUNICATION – Enhance the contribution of sports to a culture of peace by associating the Biennale with sporting events. In addition, value the contribution of the media and journalists with the participation of the Biennale in media actions and campaigns in favor of the culture of peace in Africa.
URI - Africa made the following recommendations:
- The religious and traditional leaders, faith based and interfaith organizations to be considered as partners
- Peace education to be introduced in all African countries’ school curriculum systems
- Member states of the African Union to have a clear policy against hate speech
- All stakeholders to observe the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- To promote the universal and ethical principle of the teaching of the Golden Rule, which says, “Treat others the way you want to be treated” as the guiding principle for peaceful co-existence among followers of different religions, cultures, ethnicities and different political ideology groups
May Peace Prevail on Earth
In peace and gratitude,
Mussie Hailu, URI African Continental Coordinator
